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Hello people, I have own and absolutely love a tidy little 1988 5-speed 316i coupe. What makes this car special is all the things that it does not have. Its a New Zealand spec. It does not have power steering, or A/C (Never missed it as it never gets too hot), or a sunroof, or alloy wheels, or a catalytic converter, or ABS breaks, or electronic windows, or backseat headrests. But it does have a very competent little M40 and a smooth gearbox.

I am actually quite amazed at just how fast this little 1.6L can accelerate, in the past I always hear people bashing the the 316i, this is the first one I have owned and I must say the way it picks up speed is just as fast and satisfying (if not a little faster) then my 1989 5-speed 4 door 320i with all bells and whistles (altho the top speed is less at only 185km/h) but uses probably 30% less petrol.

I still cant get my head around this, I keep thinking that it may have had a 1.8l put in at some stage, just cant believe that a little 1.6l can be so quick to 100km/h. I have noticed that it is geared pretty low and all the power is between 2k to 4k revs, it does 3k revs when travelling at 100km. This is my 3rd E30 and I must say in terms of economic and fun its probably my favorite (keeping in mind that I never owned an 325i 5-speed only a boring automatic)

Bottom line is, dont bash the 316i, they are actually really fun to drive, long as it has 0 extras.

Anyone else own or have opinions on the M40 316i? If you come across one they are worth a look, and pretty cheap to buy too.

I too am from New Zealand and have a 91 E30 316i same spec as yours except i have power steering. With half a tank of petrol a subwoofer but no spare wheel mine weighed in at just over 1100kg on the scales of a company i have a partnership with.

Edit: Also, with the E30 chassis, you dont need to have power to have fun. On a mountain pass or coastal road i would sooner drive my 316i than my V12 E34 with 4 to 5 times the performance. Just sometng about E30s.

Only thing a 316i is no good for is sustained high speed driving. It will do it, but it wont like it.

You cannot have an opinion on an E34 when you havent owned one. A drive now and again if at all cannot count

My E34 handles FAR better than my twin cam E30 did, and that car was on the classic billy/HR setup. Even stock for stock E34 handles much better than an E30

But in tight corners is when the weight shows, but it has a very sofphisticated suspension setup and you can feel it holding on. My Tourer has half the weight of my E30 again, but easily outhandle it still, and a much better car to drive even when it had the old 2L straight 6 in it

My E30 318i seems geared the same as the OP. It's not blinding off the line but it does hang on in a bend, though. I must get round to changing the wheel bearings as they sound like they are dieing. The PO's of mine did not think maintenance was a good thing so I am stuck with ends and mains grown at anything over 3k. When the head blows or the noise gets too bad I will rebuild. Fun to drive though!